Have your say on new council wards for Hart

10th January 2011

Have your say on new council wards for Hart

11th January 2011

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) begins the second part of its consultation on new electoral arrangements for Hart today.

Following the completion of its initial consultation in December 2010, the Commission is proposing that the district council should have 33 councillors. The LGBCE now needs information from people and groups across Hart to help it to map out a new pattern of wards for the district.

Max Caller, Chair of the LGBCE, said: “We are asking for information and evidence from people across Hart that will help us understand where the new ward boundaries should be drawn. We will be looking for evidence of strong community ties and areas that should be included together in the same wards. We’ll also be looking at the natural boundaries between communities.

“First and foremost, we want to ensure that the pattern of wards means that everyone’s vote in Hart is of roughly equal value regardless of where they live. Our other major consideration is to ensure that new wards genuinely reflect local communities.

“Your views will make a difference. After all, local people know Hart best. We encourage anyone who is interested in what the new wards should look like to submit evidence-based proposals to the Commission.

“We will carefully consider all the evidence that is provided to us during the consultation, whoever it is from and whether if it applies to the whole district or just a small part of it.

“We will also publish all the submissions we receive so local people can see all the various proposals we receive. Residents will then have a further chance to have their say after we publish our draft recommendations in July 2011.”

This stage of consultation will last until 3 April 2011. Further information on electoral reviews and guidance on what sort of information the Commission is looking for is available on the LGBCE website at www.lgbce.org.uk.

ends

Notes to editors:

1. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is responsible for reviewing local authority electoral arrangements, defining boundaries for local elections and the number of councillors to be elected, as well as conducting reviews of local government external boundaries and structures.

2. The LGBCE is conducting the electoral review of Hart as the district currently has significant electoral imbalances. Fleet North ward, for example has 34% more electors than the average for Hart while Crondall ward has 21% fewer. This means that the value of your vote varies to a large extent depending on where you live in Hart.

3. The types of questions the Commission is asking residents at this stage are:

Which areas do you identify as your local community?

Do you have specific suggestions about where your ward boundaries should be?

Are there any areas nearby that you don’t identify with?

4. Residents have from 11 January 2011 until 3 April 2011 to have their say about where ward boundaries for Hart should be drawn. The LGBCE will then publish its draft recommendations in July 2011 and open a further phase of consultation. New wards are scheduled to come into effect at the 2014 local elections.

5. The LGBCE’s decision on council size means it is ‘minded’ to recommend 33 councillors for Hart representing 11, three-member wards. However, the Commission is not legally bound by that number or a uniform pattern of three-member wards in its final recommendations.

6. Members of the public can have their say on the new warding arrangements by writing to: